Surviving winter as a motorsports fan.

Winter is that time of the year where nothing happens in the motorsport world (one exception: Dakar). Here are a few recommendations to help you through the agonizing wait:

Formula One

Start out with It Is What It Is, the autobiography of David Coulthard. It only goes until the end of 2007, but nevertheless it’s a fascinating read: rarely do you hear a sportsman speak with such openness. A good and honest insight into the mind of a sportsman and definitely not the politically correct version you’ll see on the BBC.

Still feel like reading? Dive into the books of Sid Watkins, who deserves huge amounts of credit for transforming a very deadly sport into something surprisingly safe (or as he likes to point out: riding a horse is much more dangerous).

Both describe the efforts on improving safety and are filled with anecdotes.

And finally, if you prefer movies, two more recommendations. Rush, an epic story about the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt. Even my girlfriend enjoyed it and she has zero interest in motorsports.

And finally Senna, the documentary about Ayrton Senna, probably the most mythical Formula One driver of all time.

It seems to be available online. If nothing else, I recommend you watch the first two minutes: the onboard shots of the bike accelerating on the first straight are downright terrifying.

Rounding up

By the time you’ve read/seen all of the above, it should finally be spring again. I hope you enjoyed this list. Any suggestions about things that would belong in this list are greatly appreciated, send them over!